Actions taken:
The 9th Budapest Human Rights Forum featured a panel focusing on the topic “Protection of women’s rights and their implementation, hindering factors of the enforcement – Are the current international mechanisms effective?” The panel provided an opportunity for the speakers and the other Forum participants to discuss issues such as the protection of women’s rights and the obstacles to their effectiveness, as well as the EU WPS agenda and its activities, while also paying attention to the security aspects of gender equality and to sexual violence in conflicts.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary in cooperation with the Hungarian Red Cross is preparing a workshop on WPS for the experts of the relevant Hungarian ministries, representatives of the defence forces and the police, as well as the peacekeeping personnel. The workshop would aim at raising awareness of the importance of the WPS agenda with a specific focus on the necessity of elaborating the relevant WPS National Action Plan (NAP).
The following aspects are planned to be highlighted: an overview of the almost two decade-long development of the WPS agenda by introducing the pertinent UNSC resolutions; the relevant international mechanisms and current challenges; EU policy, strategy, internal and external activities and institutional background; the international legal framework on combatting sexual violence in relation to WPS; interactive exchange of views on the modalities and framework of the elaboration of NAP. The expectation is that the workshop will promote the WPS agenda and position it adequately within the relevant national crisis management and gender policies. IT is our hope that the outcome of the meeting will further the process of elaborating a national WPS strategy and result in the adoption of a NAP. The workshop is planned to be held in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The Hungarian Government announced financial contribution worth of 20,000 EUR at the Oslo Donor Conference on the Elimination of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Humanitarian Crisis (23-24 May 2019) for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
A learning module on sexual and gender-based violence during times of armed conflict or in the aftermaths of disasters and other emergencies have been introduced in the Hungarian RC Disaster Management team’s training courses. Annual SGBV training courses were organized for the staff of the Hungarian RC Migration Team between 2016 and 2018 in order to identify and better address the needs of the vulnerable SGBV victim asylum seekers fleeing for safety in the transit zones.
SGBV is an existing phenomenon beyond the conflict zones, too. Every third woman over the age of 15 in the EU has experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Aiming at providing solace and support for survivors of domestic abuse the Hungarian RC participated in the EU funded project “Strengthening psychosocial methods and practices to build resilience of female victims of domestic violence” led by the Danish RC. An expert of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was invited to the Final Conference of the project that took place in November 2018 to give an insight in the issue of SGBV in times of armed conflicts. The presentation by the expert of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade focused on UN initiatives and actions aimed at combating sexual and gender-based violence against women, in particular sexual violence in conflicts and highlighted the efforts of the Hungarian Government promoting the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
